Tag: Abuja Centenary City

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a suit seeking an order to quash the House of Representatives’ report which indicted the immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, and others over their roles in the Centenary City project in Abuja.

Delivering judgment in the suit filed by the Centenary City Plc, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, held that the allegation of denial of fair hearing by the House Committee on Federal Capital Territory during the proceedings leading to the report was not cogent enough to warrant the quashing of the report.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/258/2017, was filed on March 29, 2017 against the House of Representatives and the then Chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Mr. Herman Hembe, who was recently sacked as a legislator by the Supreme Court.

While summarising the facts leading to the suit, Justice Dimgba noted that the plaintiff, Centenary City Project, believed “the House of Representatives’ dim view of the project and the adverse conclusions and recommendations on same were not accidental but were all orchestrated by the second defendant (Hembe).”

The judge noted that the plaintiff believed that Hembe had “some legacy hatred against the chief promoter of the project, former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim.”

It was alleged that Hembe had sought to have personal meetings with the plaintiff ahead of the public hearing, “with a view to being compromised, all of which were rebuffed.”

It was also alleged that at the public hearing, the plaintiff through its lawyer had sought that Hembe disqualify himself from the committee’s sittings.

The request was reportedly refused.

The committee went ahead with its sitting and concluded its investigation.

The committee’s report was adopted by the House of Representatives but with a strong dissenting report issued by one of the committee members.

Justice Dimgba noted that “the majority report adopted by the whole House made adverse findings and recommendations on the project.”

In its suit, the plaintiff claimed that it was not afforded a fair hearing in the proceedings leading to the report by the House.

Delivering his judgment on Monday, Justice Dimgba held that the suit was one that was built on Section 36(1) of the Constitution whose “provisions are only applicable in the determination of the civil rights and obligations of persons before a court or other judicial tribunal established by law.”

He explained that quashing such a report issued and ratified by another arm of government “could portend danger for the stability of the political system in terms of the relations existing among independent and equal organs of government.”

He said the court needed “to tread very carefully here so as not to breed hostility among separate organs of government that should accord each other reciprocal respect.”

The judge also ruled that exceptional situations that could warrant quashing the report did not arise in the suit.

He held, “In all honesty, upon a full and dispassionate appraisal of what has been placed before me, I do not believe that a sufficient case has been made warranting the intervention of the court in the manner prayed for in the suit.

“First, this suit has been built on Section 36(1) of the constitution. A review of the said section shows that the provisions are only applicable, ‘in the determination of the civil rights and obligations’ of persons ‘before a court or other judicial tribunal established by law’.”

He added, “I do not agree that the defendants are acting as court or tribunal or performing a quasi-judicial function.

“I do not even agree that the defendants are acting in administrative capacity.

“All the conditions enumerated in Section 36 must co-exist in a given situation for the provisions to enjoy any relevance.”

The judge ruled, “I state for the avoidance of any doubt that the House of Representatives’ investigation of the Centenary City project, which the Senate has justified, might appear mischievous or driven by questionable motives or goals, as are alleged, but the investigation itself is not illegal since the Senate’s findings are not binding on the House of Representatives, being independent legislative facilities established by the Constitution.”

He said the Centenary City Plc failed to provide the court with relevant materials to prove that the House of Representatives’ committee was compromised by Hembe’s personal interest.

He added, “The evidence clearly shows that the plaintiff was invited to the public hearing as were other relevant stakeholders.

“The right to be heard, simply means the opportunity to be heard, not that one must be heard definitively even when you spurn the opportunity.”

The judge, however, held that with questions of credibility surrounding the report, especially as captured by the minority report jettisoned by the House of Representatives, the plaintiff, instead of rushing to court, should have impressed it on the government agencies the report was sent to not to implement it.

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The House of Representatives committee investigating the multi-billion dollar Abuja Centenary City Project has said that the Centenary City Plc — the firm that was incorporated for the sole purpose of executing the project — did not have anything in its portfolio to suggest that it had the financial capacity to implement a project of $18.3bn.

The committee revealed that the combined share value of Centenary City Plc was a mere N20,000 ($65).

It also revealed that the two individuals who owned the Centenary City Plc, Ms. Boma Ozobia and Paul Oki, happened to share the same address.

Ozobia and Oki were the sole directors in the company.

The committee, chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Benue State, Mr. Herman Hembe, noted, “As far as the committee could determine, there was nothing in the portfolio of Centenary City Plc to suggest that the company had the financial capacity to implement a project of $18,376,660,950.

“As earlier said, the two companies that own the Centenary City Plc have a combined share value of N20,000.

“The two companies are in turn owned by two individuals (Boma Ozobia and Paul Oki), who happen to share the same address.”

Both Ozobia and Oki have been recommended for prosecution.

The report adds, “As the main driver of the Centenary City Project, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, knew or should have known that financial consideration was the real essence for sourcing for a private investor for the project.

“As far as the committee could determine, there was nothing in the portfolio of Centenary City Plc to suggest that the company had the financial capacity to implement a project of $18,376,660,950.”

The committee also noted that the ex-Federal Capital Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, had, in a letter to Anyim, expressed concerns about the company’s financial status.

The reports read, “The former FCT minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, on the basis of this information expressed misgivings as to the financial capacity of the investor in a letter to the then SGF dated April 8, 2014.”

The House therefore directed the return to the original owners of all the lands taken by the FCT administration for the Centenary City Project.

This invariably implied the revocation of the entire land for the Centenary Project on the grounds of breaching the Abuja land swap policy.

The committee’s recommendation 5.2, stated, “The Right of Occupancy and Certificate of Occupancy purportedly granted the Centenary City Plc by the former FCT minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, on the 10th of April 2014, should be withdrawn by the present FCT minister, Mohammed Musa-Bello.”

Among others, the House advised President Muhammadu Buhari to revoke the status of free trade zone granted to the Centenary City Plc, while the “company should be de-registered as a free zone entity.”

The committee summed up its findings, “The implementation of the Centenary City Project from beginning to its current status leaves much to be desired.

“The committee determined that the only feasible way to do justice and equity to all parties in, and affected by the project, is to restore them to the status quo ante and cause the law enforcement agencies to investigate the circumstances of the project.”

The House of Representatives has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission to prosecute a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, for his role in the acquisition of land for the controversial multi-billion dollar Abuja Centenary City Project.

Lawmakers took the decision in Abuja on Thursday after they considered and adopted the report of the House Committee on Federal Capital Territory, which investigated the alleged “abuses” of the project.

The House resolved that the ex-SGF and other “promoters” of the project should be prosecuted and public funds spent on it recovered for the Federal Government.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the project in 2014 to commemorate Nigeria’s centenary anniversary.

Anyim, a former President of the Senate, was the driver of the project, valued to gulp $18.376b.

The public land acquired for the city covered 1,267 hectares.

But, the committee, in its report to the House, said the promoters of the project abused Jonathan’s presidential directives and also flouted existing laws guiding the Abuja land swap policy to suit personal and other business interests.

The committee, which is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Benue State, Mr. Herman Hembe, had laid its report before the House on March 8.

On Thursday (today), lawmakers in the Committee of the Whole approved the recommendations of the committee.

Among the promoters listed for prosecution along with Anyim are a former Minister of the FCT, Mr. Bala Mohammed; Ms. Boma Ozobia; and Mr. Paul Oki.

Ozobia and Oki are the sole directors of Centenary City Plc, a firm incorporated for the sole purpose of executing the project.

The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday walked out the lawyer of Centenary City Plc, Mr. Emeka Obegolu, from a hearing on the controversial Abuja Centenary City Project.

The development came as the committee, which is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Benue State, Mr. Herman Hembe, grilled a former minister of the FCT, Mr. Bala Mohammed, over an alleged breach of the Abuja land-swap policy when he allocated the centenary city land during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.

The committee had accused Obegolu of “behaving unruly” when he insisted that Hembe should not preside over the hearing.

The lawyer, who came in company with the Managing Director of Centenary City Plc, Mr. Odenigwe Ike-Michaels, kept raising his voice that Hembe must not preside over the hearing.

Obegolu demanded that Hembe should hand over the proceedings to his deputy, Mr. Sergius Ose-Ogun, because he had no confidence in Hembe to be fair to the company.

He stated that there were bribery allegations against Hembe, which must be addressed first.

But, the lawmakers became impatient with the lawyer and directed him to conduct himself respectfully or else, he would be walked out of the venue.

Hembe shouted back, “You cannot dictate to us how things should be done here. I am a lawyer like you; so I know the procedure. This is a parliament; you should learn to respect us.”

Obegolu, however, said, “I will speak; let your deputy take over.”

The committee later directed the sergeant-at-arms to walk out the lawyer from the venue.

In solidarity with the lawyer, Ike-Michaels also walked out of the venue.

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, who initiated the centenary city project, also clashed with the lawmakers last Friday.

The committee had accused Anyim of having an overriding interest in the project while still in office, in spite of convincing Jonathan that it was “private-sector driven.”

But, he had told the committee that Hembe was bent on probing the project because of his “personal vendetta” against Anyim for refusing to sack a former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh.

On Tuesday, the committee queried Mohammed’s decision to allocate the centenary city land before signing the agreement.

For instance, members pointed out that while the agreement was signed on April 11, the land had already been allocated on April 10.

They also faulted Mohammed’s decision not to cancel the deal after 180 days – in line with the requirement that failure to meet with the terms within those days, the deal should be terminated.

Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, walked out the lawyer of Centenary City Plc, Mr. Emeka Obegolu, from a hearing on the controversial Abuja Centenary City Project.

The development came as the committee, which is chaired by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Benue State, Mr. Herman Hembe, grilled a former minister of the FCT, Mr. Bala Mohammed, over alleged breach of the Abuja land-swap policy when he allocated the centenary city land during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.

The committee had accused Obegolu of “behaving unruly” when he insisted on asking that Hembe should not preside over the hearing.

The lawyer, who came in company with the Managing Director of Centenary City Plc, Mr. Odenigwe Ike-Michaels, kept raising his voice that Hembe must not preside over the hearing.

Obegolu demanded that Hembe should hand over the proceedings to his deputy, Mr. Sergius Ose-Ogun, because he had no confidence in him.

He stated that there were bribery allegations against Hembe, which must be addressed first.

But, the lawmakers became impatient with the lawyer and directed him to conduct himself respectfully, else he would be walked out of the venue.

Hembe shouted back, “You cannot dictate to us how things should be done here.

“I am a lawyer like you; so I know the procedure. This is a parliament; you should learn to respect us.”

The committee later directed the Sergeant-At-Arms to walk out the lawyer from the venue.

In solidarity with the lawyer, Ike-Michaels also walked out of the venue.

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, who initiated the centenary city project, had also clashed with the lawmakers on Friday last week.

The committee had accused Anyim of having overriding interest in the project while still in office, in spite of convincing Jonathan that it was “private-sector driven.”

But, he had told the committee that Hembe was bent on probing the project because of his “personal vendetta” against Anyim for refusing to sack a former Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunmah Oteh.

On Tuesday, the committee queried Mohammed’s decision to allocate the centenary city land before signing the agreement.